The books weren't heavy, but they still caused an audible whump as they landed on the table. I glanced at them before picking up the first one.
"You're feeling new things growing up within you? What you need to know, and how to approach conversations about it?" I picked up another one. "The importance of crystals in your sanctum, and how this can work for you." I looked up at the three other members of the Guardians. "You're screwing with me right? This is like an initiation hazing for the new guy?"Karen sniggered before biting her lips as Agatha turned a gimlet eye. Koga chuffed once in amusement, then replied, "No, the names are in fact very deliberate. The books even tell you what their purpose is for but you would be surprised about how often a book—""Is judged by its cover," I said, finishing the quote.Koga inclined his head. "Just so.""So you give them awkward-sounding titles that make it read like a puberty book. Or an interior decorator's book?" I lifted both in turn before looking through the second book. I paged through it and paused at the recommended section that was at the start. "Evolution Stone?"Karen bobbed her head once up and down. "Yes, you know, Dawn stone, thunderstones, Water stones…"I groaned in annoyance. Karen frowned before realisation set in. "You've never used evolution stones before?"I shook my head. "No, not ever.""But you use rocks and pebbles?" She said incredulously. I nodded glumly. I'd been patting myself on the back this entire time for using a focus to get a 'feel' for the energy with my pebbles and rocks. Hadn't I been clever? Turns out I was an idiot that couldn't see what was staring him in the face and should have been obvious.I shut my eyes as I made the next 'logical' step. "And what is an evolution stone but a stone that has within it a 'typing' of energy?" I said rhetorically. I felt like facepalming at the oversight. "There's no such thing as an evolution stone for the rock type but then again Rock itself works well enough for me."I tilted my head in thought. "Dusk stones, right?" I got nods at that which made me grumble. It seemed so simple and straightforward once someone had pointed it out. "What about berri…" I trailed off when the third book revealed itself.It read. Growing big and strong like a pokemon! A food advisory."Well, I think I need to retire for the night to kick myself."Agatha cackled at my antics while Karen smirked. Koga remained stoic but there was an air as if he was amused by my antics. After a moment he tilted his head."You are young Brock. These are things that people constantly overlook in their day-to-day life. I am sure there are many other oversights or applications of everyday items that we take for granted. Your prior use of pebbles was impressive." He tilted his head. "Also, you have more on your plate than many others in your circumstance."It took a second but I realised he was referencing my family's situation. I worked my jaw. That… wasn't ever an excuse I wanted to accept. Falling back on it felt wrong. I shook my head and pushed down the stirrings of dark energy as I pointedly avoided thinking of my father or… her.When I looked up I noticed Koga and Agatha both asking Tiffany for another cup of tea. Karen however was laser focused on me.When Agatha turned back she flicked her eyes to Karen to see if the younger woman would say anything. When it was obvious nothing would be forthcoming she spoke up, "You'll want to start using more hard rocks or gems for the difference if you haven't already."Agatha smirked. "Good thing you're so flush with cash from your match. I would also see if you can't just find some more star pieces." I jolted in surprise. Lots of people knew of the Onix sale, as I'd announced as much, but the rest of the money I'd had to grow the gym had been found from my trip in Hoenn.She smirked as she gestured a hand towards Karen. "Karen will… make herself available to you. She'll be the primary point of contact to work on your Dark energy. I'm sure you two young ones would enjoy not having Elders breathing down your necks."Karen smiled playfully. "Best make sure to read up beforehand Brock. I'm a strict teacher," she said. With how husky her voice normally was, I suddenly had an image of her in a tight pencil skirt and a long wooden ruler turning to— I pushed those thoughts aside, nodding seriously at her.Agatha leered at me, likely knowing where my mind had wandered but didn't say anything beyond, "Well I shall return to my own home for the evening. Thank you for the earlier entertainment." Her eyes flickered to where the wrecked manor was as she rose. She left with a low laugh that seemed to haunt the room long after her departure.I rubbed my head. "Is that… is it normal to go and trash some man's house as a Guardian?"Karen rose and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "A woman scorned Brock. Do take note, when you throw weight around at the Pokemon League it has chain reactions." Karen nodded her head towards the house, "John Able is an old man that switched his support of Agatha for an advantageous business choice. He's going to make money while letting the League 'retire' Agatha. Tonight was just a warning for him. Mr Able will have his summer house fixed up before the next fall of snow, don't worry."I put my hands over my face and groaned into them. "That was the property of the owner of the pokeblock corporation?"Karen nodded, smiling at my distress. "Make sure you stay on your toes with Agatha in the future. She's a ghost type and likes tricks like that. And she's not above hitting five targets at once."She then pushed her transceiver towards me. "Let's trade numbers so we can talk more. It'll be good to have another in the Guardians I can talk with."Koga twitched. "Do not trade information over an unse—" "I know!" snapped Karen at him only for him to plow on with his reprimand, "—cure line, that is begging for information to leak into dangerous hands!" He glared at Karen as she huffed at him."Can't believe I'm expected to work with you for the next few years when I make Elite Four! Urgh! Thank Arceus you joined Brock." She gave me a wink as she dialled my transceiver to make sure it was all set. Another wink and she flicked her hair as she swept from the room. "I'll be in touch!"I sighed, wanting to relax but knowing that I still had a long day ahead of me before I was able to do so . I shut my eyes and then opened them to find Koga still sitting."Again, beware the women-folk, Brock."He inclined his head. "Welcome to the Guardians, and a good evening to you." And then he vanished without a trace. I blinked. This time I had made a point to not blink expecting to see some sort of flicker or rapid acceleration that indicated to some degree how he'd done that. Instead? Nothing.I stood, collecting my new reading material only to be reminded that the Guardians weren't just the trainers but also the help. Tiffany was suddenly very close."Brock, let me know if there's… anything I can do for you. Any need you have? I can handle it."I coughed. "Oh... That's good to know. Right now I just need to get home.""Oh, that's a shame." She slumped and in doing so forced my attention to places it didn't need to go."Yeah, it is." I mentally slapped myself before shaking my head. "I need to go. Thank you for the…" I waved at the tea I hadn't touched before waving around the room. "Hospitality." I then courageously left at a controlled and by no means hurried pace. She obviously noticed my ill-concealed eagerness as her giggles trailed after me, but this only just reaffirmed my desire to make a quick exitPlucking the last ball from my belt. I called forth Zephyr before mounting up. He flapped his wings and called out into the night before taking off with silent grace towards the west.As we flew I considered how the night had gone.Different. That was the easiest way to summarise the past few hours.. It had been different from what I had expected to occur, while still being roughly in the same spirit. I'd gained a far better understanding of the group though, and at least some insight into their motivations, so that was worth something. Plus I'd also gained methods of making myself and my pokemon stronger. I patted Zephyr as we flew. Probably not all of my pokemon, but that was just an assumption I was making.I considered that thought, as beneath me, Lavender town began to fade away behind us. I'd need to approach this slowly and with an open mind. As open a mind as I possibly could. Koga himself had said they themselves might have overlooked something. Perhaps if I went in seeking to test and push the boundaries where I could I'd be able to pick some hidden gems out of the silt? It was worth a try at least. There might also be some interesting crossovers with what I could get from Oak. Or did they have access to his research as well?I yawned. I'd need to write my thoughts down, but sadly this wasn't the best time to do so. Not unless you had a much more restrictive harness that locked you into position, but those weren't any good for the acrobatics I got up to with Zephyr. Flying was not a great time to try writing down your thoughts. I mentally tried to impress into my grey matter the need to sit down specifically for this sometime later… Tomorrow, or today technically. The appointment had been rather late after all.As we began to pass Saffron, a growing urge to simply fly down to Sabrina's gym and ask for a bed for a few hours pressed on me. Part of me squirmed at the thought of it. In a way that I knew was stupid pride, I didn't want to lean on her. It was a point of pride to be a steady rock for her when the world got too much. That and it might create some tension with her parents. For all that she was forthright and would deny it, I had no doubt they'd draw conclusions from a young man visiting their daughter in the early hours of the morning.Then again maybe they'd grown used to her… Quirks?It felt different regardless.It was one matter for her to appear in my room after a nightmare, or when she had something to discuss and she didn't feel comfortable asking others. For me to appear at her house… I was… I wasn't sure what I wanted there. Certainly not complications. I had enough of those in my life as it was. More than enough of. I rubbed my forehead as I chuckled. I'd just increased said complications tonight if anything, so maybe I wasn't the best at practising what I preached.I pushed on and ignored the tantalising offer that passed away to the south as to the north Cerulean glinted like a jewel. It was much safer to look towards. I doubted Sabrina could sense me. She typically only felt a small void around me so I doubted she could pick up on that from this distance. I usually needed to be in the same room.At least that's how it used to be.When we first met it had been as challenger and Gym Leader. Falkner had only just recently taken the title of 'youngest' gym leader from Sabrina by a few days.She'd been like a small doll standing in the gym. She'd been very confused when the trainers at her gym presented me for the challenge with her.She'd frowned in a tiny way that I'd known even back then was off, but then again, perhaps I'd gone into Saffron expecting her to have some… Issues. I'd known from watching the cartoon that she would possibly be skewed in how she saw the world.When I'd first spoken, she'd taken a long minute to react before asking if I was real and not a ghost. I couldn't remember precisely what exactly I'd said, but it had made her frown a little more pronounced before she'd raised her nose to look down on me. She'd accepted my challenge as a heavyweight would accept a featherweight's challenge.When I'd sent out Titan in his pupitar stage she'd been very intrigued.Her confusion on her inability to 'read' or look into my future had severely vexed her at the time. I had forgotten that it was technically possible to 'look into the future' as a psychic, and see how things might turn out. In the games it had been a bit of a joke/hint with how you could overcome Sabrina with the right types. Types that I'd had with Titan.When I'd won, Sabrina had been obviously annoyed. She'd teleported to me to shove the Marsh badge into my hands only for our hands to touch. She had gone still and I still remembered her whispering something about the silence. Her hand had lingered on mine and she slowly, oh so slowly, relaxed. She'd even smiled for a moment. When she'd realised she was touching me she wrenched her hand back only to apparently have her mind take on everything around her once more. That had annoyed her.She'd grown more annoyed when I stated that I wouldn't be staying in Saffron for longer than a night.Her solution to this annoying state of affairs had been to set her mother up as a temporary Gym Leader, as her father was away. And then she'd joined me on the rest of my Journey through Kanto, the Orange islands and for a brief week in Hoenn before I had been called back.In a way, I think I had been too accepting of her, and too relaxed about the entire affair. I really should have just denied her but in a way I knew she hadn't been asking for a mature 'relationship' but something that she could latch on to. It gave her a harbour to venture out from to learn how to be social and 'fit in'. If I hadn't had another life's experiences specifically in health I might not have identified that as her need. It… really wasn't something I could be too sure of. Still, I liked to think I had helped her. Just as I liked to think getting her out of one of the largest cities in Kanto, and away from the expectations of people helped her out more.With a second lifetime to draw on, I was smarter than the average child, along with being more emotionally aware of the effect my words could have, but that really didn't mean I was qualified to 'help' how she'd needed. Strangely enough, she'd listened to my advice and decided that I was suitable as a 'boyfriend'. I suspected old ladies were involved somewhere, and there had been a miscommunication on multiple levels, but it had been innocent enough.I blinked and yawned again. I shook myself and underneath me, Zephyr hooted a reproachful warning. "Sorry! Guess I'm more tired than I thought I would be." I glanced down at his face in the light of dawn before frowning. I looked up and scowled."And that fight, discussion, and now flight home took all night." I leaned forward and began to run through the list of tasks I had to see to today. "Wonderful, just wonderful… today is going to suck."One of the perks of being a gym leader was delegation. I could only thank past me for his foresight in assigning Dennis to feeding and checking the pokemon in the morning roster. That meant I only had to see to feeding my younger siblings.It was a task in itself, but one I knew how to handle in a quick efficient manner."I don't want yucky cereal!" Timmy shouted at me. "I want pebble-os!""They've got no nutrients in them! Eat your Bricka-brix blocks made of wheat or no tv!" Sadly my reasonable demands were met with a defiant glower. I shrugged and moved on to Billy and Tilly. "Come on now, eat up kids or you won't have the energy to play!"Reason had as much sway on them as it ever did. Which was to say none of them ate any quicker. I gave a forced smile as I ate my own meal. Maybe if I got them all doing something I'd be able to nab a power nap?A knock on the door saw me scarf down the food and make for the door. Part of me hoped it was another trainer come to challenge me at my house. I'd happily use dogpile, declare it super effective and claim my victory prize of a nap while the trainer dealt with my excitable siblings.Sadly it was Georgina and her daughter Crystal. "Oh Georgina, Crystal! Good morning!" I said while looking them over. "Was there a reason you're here early? I thought you had all the accounting done for the week?""Yes!" Georgina said, nodding her head. "I'm here to remind you about the personnel interviews you have to conduct."I froze. "That's today?" My mind chose that moment to helpfully remind me that yes, that was today. Past me had scheduled a number of people to come in for interviews today. Yolanda walked past at that moment. Crystal perked up, slipping past me to chat.Georgina peered at me. "Yeeees? Brock are you alright? You look a bit tired?"I waved it off. "Nothing, it's nothing, I'm just tired. I had a late night." She nodded slowly."We could reschedule some of them?" she said.I grimaced, not liking that idea. I shook my head. "I can deal with it."Georgina chewed her lip. "Do you need any help with the family?"I shook my head. "It's a school day, and tonight I have the grannies coming around to watch things." I chuckled. "These days, I'm pretty sure some of the grannies use my place to get away from their husbands and play bridge in peace." Georgina gave me the ghost of a smile that didn't reach her eyes.I led her into the kitchen where I made up two cups of coffee. One for her and the other for me. I wasn't a coffee drinker but surely if I just dumped some milk I'd be able to suck it down, right? I did so with a grimace that was mirrored by Georgina as she sipped at her own drink.She laid down the files she had. "These are the candidates that made it through the screening and a phone call with Dennis for the set questions you wanted answers for. We ran background checks on all of them and they came up clean with one standing out positively.""How so?" I said as I flipped through the first file."Daniel Domino. He has a new wife with a child on the way and he hasn't run off," Georgina said with a chipper tone, like she was happy for the other woman.I felt something twitch within. "Well… good for them." I tried not to cringe at that being a bar that needed to be passed for a sizeable number of men and women. My own family was in a way an example of this. "Good for him being a good father by trying to get employment before his kid comes." I glanced at the other slightly denser stack of files she had."And those?"She laid those to the side. "Those are for the receptionists that made it through the screening. You wanted to talk with all of them. There's seven to do today…" She eyed me, "if you're feeling up for it.""That's today as well isn't it?" When she nodded I took another chug of my drink and drained it down. When I set the mug down Georgina grimaced. I raised an eyebrow at her. "What?""You are just… that's not how coffee is supposed to be drunk," she said as she curled around her own mug like something small and precious. She cradled it and inhaled the fragrance through her nose. "It's meant to be savoured."I huffed at her. "It's instant coffee.""And that can still be savoured," she said with her eyes half shut."Thought you liked things fast?" I said teasingly as I flicked through the next file."My cars, my nights, my pokemon. Not my coffee, not my quiet little moments." She smiled as she looked into her mug like it was an adorable growlithe. I chuckled and prepped for the first interview. They'd have an interview with me and if I liked them I'd do the standard procedure for a gym trainer interview, and have a quick match to see what they were like.I wouldn't be asking for that from my receptionists. I would merely be having a face-to-face conversation and going to discuss their experiences and what they could bring to the team. The morning would solely be for trainers and then I'd switch tracks to interview the receptionists.It was expected for a trainer interview, but I heard that some corporations still made people demonstrate their skills for initial employment even for non-battling roles. It didn't surprise me, in a way it made sense in the pokemon world's logic. Being a good pokemon trainer meant more than just being strong yourself. You had to have empathy for one. So it made for better all-rounded people.When the first interview arrived barely an hour later I was moderately more awake, clean, and dressed crisply. The first trainer hopeful entered the office and smiled at me before batting her eyes. I felt my smile grow a bit more brittle."So what made you want to sign up with us? I value your honesty." I wanted to gag at the typical sounding questions. It always made me feel weird being on the other side of the interview and having to give standard questions that I could use as a 'measuring stick' for the people coming through.The first woman smiled before leaning forward. "I wanted to sign up to be… under you."The interviewee used seduction.I stared at her before offering her an open hand indicating the door.Seduction was not very effective."Please see yourself out I don't have time for that today." I had things to do and she wasn't one of them. I glanced at her resume. She'd had a good one done up and her references were good, so for her to have gotten through… she either planned this or someone had messed up on my end. I'd have to schedule some time with Dennis and Rocko to make sure it wasn't something on our side."Aren't you at all interested?" She said with a shrill disbelieving tone."I think you're looking for the local hiker's bar, not the gym ma'am." She gaped at me like I'd just called out a magikarp and slapped her with it. I nodded to the door again, "Please, see yourself out."She left with a huff.She ended up being the first of three others to attempt that method, with the third being a very effeminate man. I gave him props for trying, but also directed him towards the local Hiker bar. He seemed the most pleased with the idea.The rest of the morning passed with me having to slog through the trainers. I remembered there being a lot more applicants in the initial stage, but with the background checks and initial screening, a lot of applications were eliminated. There was still a decent number to get through, however.I probably had myself to blame with the very lucrative starting wage and option of lodgings for trainers,pokemon, and families if required. Now I had to deal with the success of my job advert.I had to run trainers through a sheet of questions each, with some answers being more important than others, while allowing for individual interpretation. Most of their showing really came down to how well they battled. In the gym setting their past achievements were as much their resume as what they'd written down. There were rarely any answers that saw me losing interest in the interviews and only the three that had slipped through the initial screening were not suitable in some manner. I had to ask them about their experiences, and their current roster of pokemon. It made for a rather interesting affair on one or two instances with tales of places I'd never been filtering in.I'd still needed to choke down another poorly made coffee through them all, all while ignoring Georgina's judging looks for my lack of appreciation. Despite the caffeine boost, I still felt drained by the end of interviewing the trainers. It turned out being the interviewer was a tiring affair. In the end, I hired two trainers.The first was a young girl by the name of Missy. And by young, I meant that in truth she was my age, had done three years on her journey, and was now looking for something more solid for a time while retaining her pokemon team for herself and her future endeavours.She was a local girl and had a good understanding of the region and the various pokemon that called it home. She even came with a team of mostly rock-type pokemon, which made her a fairly easy fit.When I'd asked one of the 'standard' questions about why she wanted this job she had grinned and replied, "Because it's the most interesting job to do in my home city, and the best paying!"I had stared at her for a moment before laughing aloud. I recalled a number of 'overly honest' interview jokes in my past life, but to have it actually happen to me was refreshing. I smiled and nodded while making a note which made her grin hugely. It was, at the very least, something a lot of other people hadn't been game enough to sayI'd appreciated that, and continued the interview before learning that she'd placed sixth in the standings at this year's Hoenn League. That had been the initial draw that opened the door for her despite her age and rather sparse employment history.This girl knew how to handle her pokemon. She'd done the circuit route twice with a longer tour of Kanto and Johto before trying her hand at the Indigo conference. She'd done well enough then, reaching the knock-out stages and making the top thirty-two. That had been good enough for a relatively new trainer. For her to then back it up with a top eight showing had been excellent proof that she'd learnt her lessons from her first circuit and applied them for her second.Now she was eying going for the Ace circuit to become a professional battler, earning money and fame. Instead of leaping into a different league of fighting straight away though, she had sought stability.I'd tested her just as hard as any other trainer to make it this far by forcing her to fight against some of my best with Shelly and Shin. Then I'd unleashed Knight against her which had caught her by surprise, but she'd rallied marvellously and used her starter —a Growlithe— wonderfully to box and pressure Knight before he had rearranged the field and taken out the fire type with some well executed rock moves.I'd smirked at the victory, which made her slump as though she'd failed the interview. When I told her I was impressed she dared to look hopeful. I'd especially liked her Rhydon. That had some serious potential at this gym. I told her as much and she'd left expecting a call by the end of the day. When I called and informed her she had the job she accepted instantly.The next trainer ended up being the young man that had been mentioned to me earlier in the day. Daniel Domino was for all intents and purposes, an Elite trainer. He had served a number of years in the Rangers before apparently getting himself and a girl in a 'family way'. Something I felt spoke well of him for sticking around and seeking a better paying, and safer, job to be with her.The battle had been a lot closer but he had a number of tells that indicated he was more used to fighting wild pokemon than a trainer-raised pokemon. It showed in how if I fell silent and let the pokemon do as I trained for certain moves he would become focussed on the pokemon to the exclusion of everything else. Something I'd not let Celia adapt. He obviously hadn't had to fight many swarms before. When I barked a terse order he'd jerked upon realising that I was there before shaking it off. He didn't have many trainer fights under his belt recently if that was the case which might have been an issue. On the other hand…"So you'll be needing a family unit then?" I asked, making a note after we wrapped up the match."If that's not a problem?" Daniel said while tugging on his collar. I shook my head, making the green-haired man sigh in relief."I think I can happily accommodate you." I tapped his file. "You have an impressive resume. I'll need to speak with your supervisor in the Rangers first, and we'll need to get you used to fighting against pokemon with trainers instead of wild pokemon but tentatively I'd say keep an ear out for my call alright?"He beamed at me before vigorously throwing my hand up and down when he shook it. I chuckled, happy with how the morning and early afternoon went. I felt I had made two good hires. My good mood came to an end with a call on my transceiver."Hello Karen? This is early, we only spoke last night.""Yeah well, we just got reminded from a local that you're taking on trainers for the next circuit. I'm going to send you a profile and we'd like you to consider them for training."I hummed into the receiver before checking the clock. "Are they coming around today?""No, the silly man is traipsing around the wilds. We'll send him your way as quickly as we can, but we'd appreciate you taking him on.""I'll consider it," I said, testing the waters."Thank you Brock, that's all we ask. I'd love to talk more, but I need to see someone about a grass pokemon." She hung up just after I said goodbye. I drummed my fingers. That had… Huh, they'd stuck to what they said they would. They had a guy with some potential but weren't pushing me. That was good. It seemed like they were going to hold to their word about leaving me run my ship how I wanted.I glanced at my emails and saw a file waiting for me from Agatha herself. I resolved to give it a look over later. It was important after all, but not urgent.I instead turned my attention to the stack of receptionist resumes for people that had sent them in. During small breaks, I winnowed them down. Now only three tan folders lay to the side of my desk. Thankfully this role hadn't gotten as many applicants as the trainer role had, but that was to be expected.The best applicant for this job ended up being a much older woman. She had all the experience but sadly her hearing was going on her. That… I tapped her file… it wouldn't work out. When I'd called her on the phone to schedule something in I'd had some issues with her hearing. When she was face to face I got the impression she was lip-reading me more than actually listening to what I was saying. Still, she had been able to outline a number of ways to improve the 'front' of the gym and make things smooth and hopefully more enjoyable for all.The second applicant had ended up being fine over the phone but in person she'd been very twitchy and anxious. Not something I wanted at the front of the gym as one of the first people to associate with my gym. She'd been put down as a maybe while I mentally began writing a letter that would recommend methods of controlling or lessening her anxiety.The last lady ended up having no experience as a receptionist, but a rather decent grounding in another job. "A daycare you say?" I said across the transceiver, imagining what she'd have had to see within a daycare around these parts. Memories of Don and the Wingulls threatened to rise up."Oh yes, I rather enjoyed it, but I think I'd like to try something different in life.""Do you think you'll have any issues dealing with trainers? You've dealt with them in the past while handling their pokemon, no?"She had tilted her head while blinking. "Oh no! I worked at a daycare for children!" She put a hand over her mouth and laughed politely at my error.I chuckled at my mistake. "Ah apologies."She shook her head, "I imagine I might have to use some of my methods for directing children more than anything. I think I will have a good time. Hopefully, there will be fewer tantrums." She gave another light laugh."I wouldn't count on that. Trainers can be very passionate.""As can three to five-year-olds.""Hmmm can you come in and run through some tasks for us?" An idea formed in my mind. Being the receptionist for a pokemon gym would be an ill-defined role but I had an idea of what I wanted.When she agreed to come sit in I sat back after bidding her a good day. So I had two candidates in truth. One with a wealth of experience but poor hearing, another that was trained in another field but not as specifically geared. I turned the issue over in my head before shrugging and saying aloud, "Why not both?"I chuckled before giving it more thought. If I had the Daycare lady while also employing the older woman to be her training supervisor I really would get the best of both worlds. Effectively hiring a face for the gym while getting some experience as well.If they got annoyed with a trainer giving them any grief they could swap out. I imagined a nearly deaf woman would handle things differently than the daycare lady. It promised to be amusing nevertheless.With that finally out of the way and no other pressing concerns, I turned the gym over to Rocko to pack up. I had tasks for the next week to handle the onboarding for the new hires,but that could wait for now. There were at least two hours before I needed to start cooking dinner and my bed was singing a siren song to me for an early nap, one that I'd been looking forward to for the past hour.I entered and found some of the Grannies still at the table. There was also a smell that I couldn't quite put my finger on. One of the grannies signalled a pause in their game so they could approach me."Brock, we gave Suzie some medicine as the poor dear was feeling a bit under the weather. It also seems little Timmy has her bug. They're napping right now," she said delicately."Ah thanks for that," I said as I decided I'd poke my nose in before having a nap myself. I didn't get even that far as Suzie toddled into the hall. She gave me a sleepy look as she approached before raising her hands up in the universal toddler silent speak for 'pick me up'! I did so smiling at her."Hey there Suz—" She threw up down my shirt.I swallowed the urge to reply in kind from long experience as the sticky muck rolled down my front. The Grannies shifted into action with some getting towels while others got cleaning products to clean the floor.I sighed, giving the grannies thankful nods. Then I smiled at Suzie as she clung to me. "Did you throw up in your bed?" I asked, already putting two and two together as I recalled the smell I'd been greeted with.She nodded and snuggled into me. I sighed again, "Come on, let's clean it up and get you down to the doctors for a check-up."The Grannies shook their heads and told me they'd take care of it. I gave them a tired smile in thanks. Then I checked in on Timmy only to find him throwing up in the bathtub.I groaned. I'd been right when I'd said today was going to suck. It seemed today was going to suck for just a bit longer and a bit harder still though.I really should have seen the last little jab of suck coming."Alright, looks like we're going to the hospital," I said to the room at large.
41
"—ging Dr. Statham, paging Dr. Statham. Report to C wing please," called a voice over the speakers. I sat in my chair ignoring it, and the building annoyance that came from having to wait in such a clinical setting. I had given up trying to be comfortable. These were hospital chairs, they weren't made to be comfortable. That would result in people falling asleep or wanting to linger.Hospitals were interesting places. You went there to get better, but you were never supposed to enjoy it lest you linger longer than you should. This was a universal truth that probably had to be drilled into designers. That, or it just so happened that the lowest cost chairs were also the most annoying to sit in."Broooooock how much longer?" Groaned Suzie from next to me. I rubbed her back."Soon little girl, soon," I said in as consoling a tone as possible.Coughing and sniffling erupting from my other side made me check on her twin. Timmy hadn't thrown up again, but he hadn't stopped sniffling and coughing which might be good? Or bad? I had no idea. I had each wrapped up in some blankets to keep them warm before I had dragged them with me to our family doctor.Or I would have, had our doctor not decided to go on holiday to the Orange islands this week. I was less than pleased at this as this was one of those small life hassles that would have been much faster to fix with our personal doctor, or at least his clinic, being open. Money, as the saying goes, sure can solve problems.Sadly you can't always throw money at problems. So instead of having the issue resolved quickly, with an in-and-out visit to our family doctor, with me already home and me feeding my siblings chicken soup, we were waiting in the local hospital. The very full local hospital meant we had to sit in a waiting room waiting among other people that were sick or injured. Unlike the pokecenters it wasn't a quick in and out with the healing machine or Chansey looking over the injured. So here we were until we got to see a doctor. Then we'd maybe get a prescription or some instructions if it was just a virus.I rubbed my face and sighed heavily. I had been through this song and dance a lot over the last few years. I knew how it went from my past life with an ailing aunt that caused most of her own maladies. It didn't make it better. It made me itch in annoyance."Growlithe!" Barked a small dog pokemon as it wandered over to Suzie and Timmy. It whined when they didn't notice it. It inched forward and pushed its snout into Suzie's face causing her to gasp in shock before giggling at the pokemon as it wagged its tail. I relaxed a little. It was good to see she could interact with a comfort pokemon like this. If she'd pushed it away she obviously would have been much worse off than I'd been aware.Timmy watched on but didn't get envious. He seemed more tired and resigned. Another wet snout touched him and he jerked in surprise to turn about and see a Flareon bumping into him. "Flare? Eon?" the pokemon asked with a tilt of its head."So warm," said Timmy in a whisper.I sat back and watched the two pokemon slowly make my siblings more comfortable. As fire types they had good control of their temperatures, and it looked like they were groomed with an eye for making them as cloudlike soft as possible. Timmy was more than happy to nuzzle into the Flareon while Growlithe was stroked by Suzie.The receptionist glanced over at us and smiled before nodding at me. I returned the nod. As the 'trainer' for these pokemon she would have to have them cleaned off between each petting to not spread infection, but it was an effective method for keeping kids calm in a stressful situation.A machoke accompanied an orderly with a clipboard. "Mrs. Adeline?" He said while looking around the room. An old woman raised her hand while a young man tried to help her to stand. The orderly walked up and waved his hand back and forth. "Sir, please let Machoke assist, she's trained for carrying people safely.""Machoke!" The buff bodybuilder pokemon leaned down and picked up the elderly woman carefully."Oh! I'm being swept off my feet!" cried the woman as she was carried away."Choke! Ma!" I watched them go.The Machoke had a rather well-defined back, but I suspected that was because she spent all day working out in one form or another. They wouldn't be the only Machoke I'd see around the hospital either. For all that they were more known for their gym-junkie tendencies. Machop's entire evolutionary line had long since been integrated into Hospital support. Now people could work as orderlies without the risk of developing chronic back pain, or ruptured discs, as pokemon that loved to lift things took the load. People also seemed to prefer the pokemon even over hoist systems.They weren't the only other pokemon that were 'normal' to see around a hospital either, with comfort pokemon like Growlithe also featuring in different centres.I glanced to the side to spot a Bellosom floating around with a small spray bottle in her hands. Occasionally she would pause and spray herself before a tiny puff of gas would escape her.It made the place smell a bit nicer while also helping with airborne bacteria. I watched her float around cleaning and cheering people up with her smells and chirps. A few times she even danced in front of a waiting patient to entertain them.When she saw me watching she spun around a few times and skipped before puffing out some more sweet scent that had the Growlithe and Flareon both relaxing further into my sibling's grasp. I chuckled and gave her a head pat which she nuzzled into.When I withdrew she gave a small, disappointed, "los!"I shook my head and gestured to the rest of the room. As nice as it was to pet the pokemon, she had work to do and I didn't want to be too much of a distraction. She patted me on the knee before sauntering off once more with a small song of her name playing out.Another person came and sat down near me. "Brock?"I glanced toward the voice. "Oh, Mrs Haridan. What brings you here?" For a woman with a mean-sounding name she seemed to exist to reject any thoughtless first impression. She had a ready smile and when she reached out and patted my hand I wasn't surprised to find a butterscotch candy placed within."Oh nothing so major, I just had a sniffle." She directed her watery eyes towards Suzie and Timmy. "Oh my, you've certainly got them bundled up! Are they bug pokemon?"Suzie and Timmy seemed to have gotten a bit of energy back as they smiled at the older woman and chirped pokemon names at her. "Weedle!" "Caterpie!" "Meta-pod!" They chanted in unison before giggling into their hands as she dispatched more candy for them each.I gave her a fond, if exasperated, look. I nudged the bucket closer to Suzie just in case her stomach acted up again. Mrs Haridan noticed the gesture. "Don't worry I handcraft my candies to be gentle on stomachs!"I nodded. "I should have suspected as much from the best chef in Pewter."She flapped a hand at me. "Pshaw! Don't butter up an old woman like me! You should be out there chasing young lasses or being chased!" She gave me a searching look. "Have I introduced you to my daughter?""I believe she's married already Mrs Haridan."She tapped her chin at that pesky setback. "My granddaughter?""Still on her journey no?" I said after thinking for a moment.The old woman nodded. "Rather enjoying the Sevvi Islands last I heard from her. I'll have to make her swing by to train at your gym! I'm sure after your recent tete-a-tete with Lance she'd be very open to having you offer pointers!"I shrugged at her, I probably would have indulged her but it had been… a very, very long day with the interviews along with not really enough sleep. So instead I diverted to a safer topic. "So any thoughts on how to get dinner to stay down? I'm thinking chicken soup, but I only have so much stock in the kitchen right now. Any tips to stretch things out?"She perked up and began questioning what I had in my kitchen. In truth, I had lots of things. I always made sure the pantry was stocked —if locked at night— to handle the kids and the Munchlax we'd taken on. That didn't stop her from outlining how to cook what sounded like an amazing recipe."This an old family secret?" I asked jokingly.She waved her hand daintily. "Oh goodness no! I got it from a magazine years ago! I tell my family it is though!" She giggled into her hand and I shook my head."Brock!? Mr Brock?" Called a nurse. This time they were accompanied by two Machops that had a bed between them. It was at times like this that my lack of a last name really stood out to me. It wasn't considered strange here though and some people even seemed oddly proud of not having one. It obviously had some cultural or historical context that I hadn't been told about yet.I stood and nodded to Mrs Haridan. "I'll cook that soup when we're done here. Thanks for the recipe." I flipped the notepad closed and looked to Suzie and Timmy. "Want the Machops to wheel you into the Doctor?""Yeah!" They said as one before groaning as they got a bit dizzy from trying to move. The Machops quickly moved to support them. The small humanoid forms gently lifting the smaller humans. Then they marched back to the bed they had brought before placing the kids onto it."Chop! Chop! Ma!" They said as they worked. The orderly gave my siblings a smile."Feeling a bit under the weather are we?" My siblings nodded into their blankets, withdrawing further in shyness. When the man turned to me I handed him a small folder."Our usual doctor is on holiday and his entire practice is closed up.""Ah yeah, thankfully it's not the worst weather to come up to the hospital." He glanced over their medical history with a hum before nodding slowly. "Seems all up to date. Anything to note?""Suzie has been vomiting up food and feeling drowsy, while Timmy has been sneezing green phlegm and getting stuffed up, he also threw up earlier. I'm not sure if it's the same thing but because they share a room at the moment I thought it better get them both looked over." The nurse merely hummed in thought before giving the kids another friendly look."Right! Let's get you to Dr. Pritchard, he'll have you all seen to as quick as a zoomy Zigzagoon!"A quick walk through the hospital halls had us passing the maternity ward where Chansey and Happiny bounced around with their own carts. When we reached the paediatrics wing I saw a number of brightly coloured rooms with nurses wearing vibrant coloured scrubs walking around, and interacting with the kids. I chewed my lip hoping that this wasn't about to turn into an overnight trip. I'd need to run a number of chores or have someone else handle them at the very least if so.Before I could get too stuck into the rabbit hole of that line of thinking the nurse opened the door and a young male doctor looked up from his paperwork. "Ah! Brock." He looked to the two bundled-up kids on the bed being pushed by two machop. "So you must be Suzie and Timmy, let's have a look at you shall we?"He was quick with his assessment. Much like the nurse I had to repeat the same information while allowing him to look over the twins medical records. Then he felt up their thyroids and listened to their breathing with a stethoscope."Cold!" Said Timmy when it was his turn, squirming away from the metal on his chest. One of the machop jumped onto the bed and began flexing at him.I could just imagine the little pokemon reprimanding him and saying "Don't be a sissy. Be tough like me! Don't worry about the cold! Look at these muscles!" The rather mediocre guns display ended before the other Machop could get a chance to argue with the other pokemon. It served as a good distraction for Timmy as the doctor got through the assessment without any other complaints."Hmmm, I think you're on the money. You won't be able to treat this with anything normally available. I'm going to write up a prescription for you. Want me to have them bill and deliver it to your home?""Please," I said, happy that in this world things were often more streamlined. The pharmacy really went out of its way to prescribe and deliver. Especially to young or elderly clients. Just as long as you signed on with a spending account that is. But then again, people had to eat and get paid for the work they did."Now I assume you know not to teleport home yes?" Dr Pritchard turned to me."Yeah. No teleporting sick or injured unless it's an emergency. Otherwise, you might make it worse or lose something," I recited the pokemon first aide course I had to undergo as a Gym Leader. The Doctor nodded at me. There had been a rather famous case a few years ago of a man being mauled by a Pidgeot in the wild. It had left his arm barely hanging on. The man had decided to teleport instead of being transported to the hospital. Parts of him had never arrived.It was still considered a good call but one that highlighted the dangers. For the sick, it often resulted in intensified conditions. Sick people might find their sickness slightly displaced resulting in a worsened condition."Did you want some help taking them home?" He gestured to the Machops that were putting on a muscle show to my siblings."You kids want these strong pokemon to carry you home?" Timmy thought about it but Suzie shook her head to reach out toward me. I plucked her up without complaint. She hopefully wouldn't throw up on me again but I had a spare shirt in my backpack. Timmy pointed at one of the Machop that raised its arms like it had just won a bantamweight boxing championship. The other slumped.With that taken care of, I passed by the reception and settled up the bill before trudging home. Besides me, Timmy held onto the machop's shoulder having gone for a 'pony ride'. As we walked I looked over the white-topped mountain ranges that now surrounded Pewter. Thankfully it hadn't snowed today, but the city employed fire types and onix to keep the roads clear so that wouldn't have been a large issue even if it had snowed. Still, I had made sure to bundle the kids up with the colder wind making them huddle into their blankets.On the way home I passed by a man that was simply sitting and watching the road toward the gym. Most people would have ignored him. The man made a wonderful rock impression with how still he was. Combine that with his dishevelled appearance you wouldn't be wrong in thinking he had obviously been roughing it for a long while now.The man turned his head when he heard us approaching. He stiffened when he saw us. I didn't make a show of acknowledging him. I merely looked to Suzie and Timmy who weren't paying attention to their surroundings. Suzie looked like she was trying to sleep while Timmy was trying to urge his Machop to jump."Hey Suzie, do think you'll be able to eat some soup when we get home? I think you need to eat something with this medicine," I said out loud."Mmmmm," she grumbled before burying herself deeper into my back.When we came level with Flint, Timmy sneezed and I heard the splatter of snot impact Machop's shoulder."Ma! Macho!" cried the Machop before sighing and patting the bundled up boy on his back when Timmy apologised.I leaned over and wiped the snot. "That's good manners Timmy. Sorry Machop, let me get you cleaned up." Even as I did so I felt my eyes shift towards Flint to see how he was reacting. The man had curled into himself and was staring at the ground.I felt something bitter rise up and I opened my mouth to ask if he didn't want to do anything. Anything at all. I wanted to grab at that feeling and lash out. I felt something dark filling me and for a moment I consider—Suzie grumbled and her stomach gurgled. "We going home?" I bit back what I was going to say, watching Flint pointedly not look at us.I pushed the feelings aside. "Yeah we're going home Suzie, come on Timmy."I didn't look back as we walked on. Instead, I very pointedly entered the house. Thanked Machop. Collected the medication when it arrived. Cooked Mrs Haridan's soup and fed the kids. I stayed very quiet throughout.I felt if I had said anything else I might have bitten out the words and that wasn't a good behaviour to have around small children. I made sure to make enough so that the entire family that was present… That was in the house, I corrected mentally, could eat the soup for lunch tomorrow.Then I deposited the kids into bed. I layed on the floor next to them to monitor them for a while.Suzie blearily watched me and shifted back and forth. I fluffed her pillow, trying to make her more comfortable. She lay still but kept watching me. "Brock? Can you sing to me?"I rubbed a hand down my face. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a story? You know I'm bad at singing.""You're not… you just don't get to practise enough," she said."Who told you that?""My kindergarten teacher, she says nobody is born good at something, they have to practise, practise, practise," said Suzie with a sing-song tone, then she coughed a little. I patted her back."You really want me to sing?" I rubbed my chin. It had been a long time since I'd last sung for my siblings. I used to do it a lot… back when I first came home and Billy and Tilly had been tiny. I'd stolen songs like, 'you'll be in my heart' by Phil collins, the lion sleep—luxray in this world—,… or at least as much as I could remember of it. I had some notes about it and other scribblings of my past life in my office locked away.I could only sing by the most charitable measure of skill. I typically tried to sing with a low slow style. I usually got off with the kids preferring my stories where I could do a ton of different voices. But tonight apparently was a song night. I wasn't going to deny her. So instead I laid my head against the wall and sang something I'd adapted from my past life."Man~, I feel like hell tonight,Tears of rage I cannot lieI'd be the last to help you understandAre you hard enough to be a man?My man," I dragged the words out, eyeing Suzie as she yawned but continued to watch me. So I kept singing."Nothing's true and nothing's rightSo don't leave me alone tonight'Cause you can't change the way I amAre you hard enough to be a man?"I sighed out the next words as Suzie's eyes slowly closed."Lie to meI promise I'll believeLie to meBut please don't leaveDon't leave," I sang before making to stand I got to the door before Suzie coughed. I checked her over but she was now fast asleep. When I left the room I found Yolanda waiting outside the door.She smiled at me. "They alright?""They're sleeping now." I patted her on the head and heaved a sigh. "I'm gonna get some sleep myself. Night.""Night Brock." She hugged into my side, "love you," she said into my ribs.I mirrored her words and headed straight for my room where I collapsed into bed. I let my mind wander. Everyone was in bed now, right? My family was fine? They'd been fed hadn't they? I vaguely remembered Yolanda heating something up from the freezer for the others while I'd been busy.I tried to relax and force sleep to claim me.It didn't work.My mind kept going to the walk back to the gym and what had happened.Could I really leave Flint to look after my siblings? I kept coming up with an answer that made me chase my tail. He'd seen us! He couldn't deny that! And… he just sat there.I wasn't the person that had had so many kids. I had never signed on for this. I'd known it was coming though. I'd tried to avoid it. Part of me hated myself for that.Part of me longed for the open road again and I despised that part of me that knew it was a selfish reaction.Life was easy when you were on the road. You lived day to day without too many worries. It made you more… present? I wasn't sure how, but it made you focus on the now. It was easy to be free when you didn't have any responsibilities. It was one of the best things about living in a pokemon world. Everyone understood that, it was why pokemon journeys were so prevalent in our culture. Sadly they could be addictive if the number of single parents was any indication.I'd had mine and loved it. I'd despaired when I'd been called back early. But I had made the best of the situation.I looked at the walls of my room, imagining the walls beyond them. There were strong walls around a strong gym. I looked at the colours and toys I'd collected spread across the room. My siblings were happy and had most of what they needed.If I only wanted to consider my happiness, I would do as Flint did and walk out the door. I grit my teeth at that comparison. And it was a comparison. If I left, wouldn't I be no better than him? Did I know that I needed to accompany Ash on his journey? Brock in the anime had been a stabilising feature that cooked meals and helped look after pokemon. He'd also been a recurring joke with his failed flirtations with women. He might not have been the main character, but he had his role to play in guiding said character. Did that make it an apples to oranges situation then?What about the gym? What about all the work I had put in?I turned over and tried to get comfortable. I could feel the fatigue in my bones. I felt tired. It was an experience I'd gotten used to in my older life. Now I was not even seventeen and I was already feeling like an old man. Maybe it was just my old soul? Or, and this had taken me a while to understand through experiencing it enough in my past life, maybe I was just having a no-good-rubbish day. You got those sometimes. I'd bounce back. Sometimes we all struggle a bit in the dark after all.I chuckled to myself at the accidental pun. Then I grimaced, sitting up to fluff my pillow. Maybe that needed to be changed out soon? I wasn't getting more comfortable despite my efforts.Yup.Today was one of those days.Those no good, rough days that made you feel like you were about to either be kicked or do some kicking yourself. I felt my eyes slide shut as I breathed out loudly.I had no idea when I next opened my eyes, but I did so to find myself looking into red eyes. I was held in a blanket that was scooping me up from the floor and carrying me. Had I rolled out of bed? Or had I eventually decided to try sleeping on the floor? I… couldn't really recall.I dozed with my eyes just barely opened. When I was set into bed I felt a softer form lay down behind me and wrap me in a hug. I had to wonder what Sabrina was doing here.My sleeping mind offered up the answer. "Had a rough night, yourself?"The form behind me nodded once. "I tried spending some more time outside… with my father and mother. We ended up with a lot of people wanting something from us. Mother wanted me to stay though so… I stayed," said Sabrina.I rolled in her arms and lay an arm over her. She stared at me and I smiled at her. "Yeah… sorry. That happens sometimes," I said lightly trying to let myself fall back asleep. I hadn't realised it but I had been rather cold down there. Thoughts could get heavy sometimes. I could only imagine how being a psychic could make things harder."Thanks for picking me off the floor," I said with my eyes shut as sleep claimed me.
I woke up the next morning alone. Next to me, a small depression marked where another body had laid. I sighed and sat up before making my way out to start a new day. I found myself slightly more relaxed than I had been though. I hummed and shot Sabrina a message to thank her, even if she'd needed me, her being there last night had helped.I headed out and found all of my siblings' bar Suzie and Timmy already fed and getting ready for school. Suzie and Timmy were still sleeping. I sent them off and when my sick siblings woke up, got them to eat something.Then Georgina called to tell me she had no paper work for me, leaving me to enjoy a lazy morning on the couch, watching cartoons with my siblings. Today already seemed to be off to a better start.